$1M bill deposit attempt leads to Iowa man’s drug arrest
Sioux City, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a man who tried to deposit what he presented as a $1 million bill has been charged with drug possession in Iowa. A criminal complaint says Sioux City police officers were called to a Northwest Bank branch Thursday to talk to a man who tried to deposit the bill into his account. The officers asked 33-year-old Dennis Strickland whether he had any more of the bills and that a baggie fell out when he emptied a pocket. The complaint says the baggie contained methamphetamine. The U.S. Treasury Department says it has never produced a $1 million bill.
Gurney holding deceased person falls from van into traffic
Olympia, Wash. (AP) – Police say a gurney holding a dead body fell from the back of a coroner’s van into Olympia traffic. The Olympian reports the van was heading back to the county coroner’s office Monday after responding to a home death. Olympia Police Department Lt. Paul Lower says two gurneys fell out of the van at the intersection of Martin Way East and Phoenix Street Southeast. The gurney holding the deceased person was found in the intersection, while the second gurney rolled down the street and was found in a parking lot. Lower says officers rerouted traffic while the coroner’s office was notified and returned to load the gurneys back into the van. Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock says an investigation has started to determine the cause of the incident. He says there was no trauma to the body and the family was notified.
Accused burglar doesn’t flush toilet,
leaves DNA for police
Ventura, Calif. (AP) – A man accused of burglarizing a Southern California home took a bathroom break and left DNA evidence in the toilet that led to his arrest, an investigator said Tuesday. The suspect “did his business and didn’t flush it” during the October break-in in the city of Thousand Oaks, said Detective Tim Lohman of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. That allowed investigators to collect evidence to conduct a DNA profile. It matched another profile in a national database and detectives tracked down the suspect at his home in the nearby city of Ventura. Andrew David Jensen was arrested July 28 on suspicion of first-degree residential burglary, a felony. His bail was set at $180,000. Lohman said it’s the first DNA burglary match case he knows of with fecal evidence collected from a toilet. “When people think of DNA evidence, they usually think of hair samples or saliva,” Lohman said. Jensen was scheduled to make his first court appearance Wednesday.
Lottery luck strikes twice for Quebec man who won millions
Quebec City (AP) – There are lucky men, and then there’s Jules Parent. For the second time in nine years, the 69-year-old Quebec retiree has won a million Canadian dollars playing the lottery. Parent muses, “Was I born under a good star?” He showed up at lottery offices to pick up a check for $1,222,069 after winning the jackpot from an online play worth $3.20. Loto-Quebec places the odds of such a bet at about one in 23 million. Parent also won $1 million back in 2008. He said Thursday that gambling is one of his favorite pastimes along with walking, hunting and fishing, and he intends to keep playing. He also plans to build a new home. In Parent’s words: “It won’t be a castle, but it will be in the modern style.”
Lawyer says juror might have stolen opioid evidence at trial
Columbus, Ohio (AP) – An Ohio defense attorney says at least one juror may have stolen oxycodone pills during a drug trial. The Columbus Dispatch reports attorney John David Moore Jr. says jurors found his client guilty and then rushed out of the courthouse before anyone noticed the 71 opioid pills were missing. He says his client should get a new trial or have his charges dismissed. Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien and the court’s administrative judge say they’ve never heard of evidence going missing during jury deliberations. Heroin and methamphetamine used as evidence didn’t go missing. O’Brien says that it’s premature to blame jurors for the missing pills and that their disappearance doesn’t affect the facts of the case. The Franklin County sheriff’s office is investigating and reviewing surveillance camera footage.
